An Italian stage actor is in a coma after a lynching scene went wrong.

Raphael Schumacher, 27, was starring in the six-scene play Mirages in Pisa when something went wrong during a sequence in which his character was hanged and he began to choke.

An audience member realised Mr Schumacher was in genuine pain and raised the alarm.

Police are launching an investigation into how exactly the accident happened. Initial findings suggest Mr Schumacher wasn’t wearing a body harness, which is required for actors performing hanging stunts.

Another report claims the box on which the actor was meant to stand to take the weight off his neck had been moved.